Saturday, February 11, 2012

Daytime Heroes: Chip 'N' Dale Rescue Rangers (1989)

Disney's mischief-making chipmunks, Chip 'N' Dale, were given their own series at the end of the 80's. Chip 'N' Dale Rescue Rangers initially previewed on the then-premium Disney Channel in August of 1988, then went to series in March of '89 before going into national syndication 6 months later. The series introduced three new characters as the remainder of the Rangers: Monterey Jack, an Australian mouse; Zipper, a housefly who is also Jack's sidekick; and Gadget Hackwrench, the team's answer to, well, MacGyver, as she's not only the team's pilot, but also an ace inventor, and the object of Chip & Dale's affection, however unrequited.

The producers found a way to tell Chip & Dale apart. Chip is the Indiana Jones clone, complete with a fedora and jacket. Dale opts for the Magnum P. I. look with the Hawaiian shirt, but otherwise can't maintain his focus while on a mission. The series lasted 4 years as part of the Disney Afternoon anthology series, with the final two years being all reruns. The family pop group, The Jets, are credited with performing the show's theme song.

To give you an idea of the concept of the series, we present the episode, "Puffed Rangers", from 1990:

Boom! Studios revived the series for a short-lived comic book that went 8 issues, the last published in June 2011 under their Kaboom! imprint. With Disney now owning Marvel, and if there's enough interest, maybe the Rangers will return.